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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Happy Sunday to everybody! I've arrived to Athens last night and I'm back to the airport right now waiting for my gate to open and writing this post. After a stressful year it's time to spend some quality time with friends and family (on the beach!) I'll be back in three weeks, I have my camera with me so I'll try to update the blog regularly with photos that I take from all the places that I plan on visiting. Did you watch the Olympic games opening ceremony on Friday? Did you like it? We watched the ceremony in a British pub, with cocktails and burgers, the atmosphere was amazing, everything is so festive in London right now and I'm really excited about my holidays but at the same time I'm also kind of sad to leave London. That's it for now, it's time to board, I'll see you all soon from a different location, have a fabulous day!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

More than a year ago I've decided that it was time to hit the reset button on my life and start over. Long story short, I prepared my portfolio, got an interview for a university, got accepted in the university, bought a huge suitcase, two plane tickets and the next thing I remember is that I was sitting on a train, watching the blurry red brick buildings outside and the sudden realization that this was it, I wasn't living in Greece anymore. Actually I had no idea were I was going to live. I looked at John, my boyfriend, who was sitting next to me and he had the exact same look in his eyes. We didn't say anything for a long time, we just smiled and somehow I felt calm. It's seems kind of funny now because at this point I remember this moment in the back of my mind as if I was a random passenger on this train, sitting across this foreign Greek girl surrounded by suitcases, with fear in her eyes. I know thousands of people do that every year, but that first moment when you realize that you're not in your comfort zone anymore, that you're moving to a place where you have to start a new life, create a new comfort zone, this moment is when you realize how beautiful life is.After that day, real life started and I've faced all kinds of difficulties that a person can face when they're starting a new life: apartment hunting, enrolling in a new university, crazy landlords,, trying to catch up with projects and deadlines while I didn't even have a descent place to live. Well, as you can see all of these belong to the past and in September a year will have passed. A WHOLE YEAR. Twelve months in Londontown, that's big. I don't have words to describe this new experience, this new life and everything that this city has offered to me. Friends, love, education, experiences and ENDLESS design inspiration. Today I want to share with you some of my favorite parts of my little flat in London, a small but bright and cozy studio apartment somewhere in West London. (I never post ugly things on this blog so I think a "before" picture of my apartment will be unnecessary!)

I hope you like it and don't forget "If you don't like where you are, change it, you are not a tree!"

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a lovely week! The weather here in London is finally warm, it's so sunny and the city is ready to welcome the Olympics! My apartment has two huge windows and it's so bright but I always envy all of those people who have the privilege of owning a balcony and enjoying the sun & a cup of coffee there. So I've decided to create this new section on the blog where I can show you how you can "copy" a beautiful room on a low budget! Today I've recreated a beautiful small French style balcony with only 112£ //138$. Everything in this project is from IKEA, I love modern affordable design (that can easily be transformed into something unique).

Monday, July 23, 2012

This is the first post with the photos you've posted on #MydailydoseofGreece and I couldn't be happier! In less than a week you've posted more than 90 photos and it was so hard for me to choose only 10. I promise, I'll try to share all as many pictures as possible every week. I loved all the beautiful snapshots of my beautiful, sunny country, thank you all for participating in this little game and please keep sharing your favorite Greek locations with rest of the world! In less than a week, I'll be back home sharing my daily dose of Greece with you, too!

If you don't know what #MydailydoseofGreece is, take a look at this post and joins us on #mydailydoseofGreece on instagram.

What do you think? What's your favorite picture?

I've created a list with the instagram usernames of the photographers on the list below so you can follow them if you like their pictures.I hope you have a lovely new week!Maria

Friday, July 20, 2012

It's Friday, I'm in love with: Anthropology // I'm sure most of you know Anthropology and its aesthetics. If not, take a look here and you'll thank me later! I've started looking on their website for a couple of new decoratives for my apartment and I ended up daydreaming about my next (bigger) apartment and all the things I really want to buy. Today I will share with you my favorite products and how you will use them in your bedroom// kitchen// office desk! I hope you enjoy them!

Picture 1// The Chalkboard Spice Jar
Scrawl the name of your favourite spice across the slate-painted medallion of this colour-topped ceramic jar.
You can buy it here for £8.00

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Being away from home is not easy, being away from Greece during Summer is even worst. It all started with some random pictures from Greece that I've uploaded on a rainy day on Unidentified Lifestyle's facebook page. The response and the love from people was huge so I thought that we need to create something bigger, a place where anybody can share their favorite locations, images and moments. What's the best way to entertain all of these images? Instagram of course.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I'm really happy to introduce you to '#mydailydoseofGreece". You can take a photo of your favorite location or a beautiful moment , you can even take a photo of an object that reminds you of Greece (even if you're not there at the moment!) tag your photo with #mydailydoseofGreece and at the end of each week I will choose 10 of my favorite images and I will post them here on the blog so that more people can take a look at your "clicks". We have more than 50 images tagged already, I hope you will join our instagram game and share your own daily dose of Greece!

Have a lovely day!

Ps: I'll be posting my onw pictures of Greece because I will be there really really soon but until then I have a huge photo archive on my photo album :) You can find me on instagram as 'marimarmat'Maria

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

2. My two new best friends "Make your house a home" & "Style your bedroom"3. A pretty necklace from ASOS4. Gingerman Olympic athletes in a window display in Notting Hill5. A happy hippie chandelier

This last week passed so fast, that I didn't even have time to realize that it was Monday again yesterday! My week was filled with pretty things like Interior Design, pink peonies, drinks, tasty dinners and walks around my favorite Notting Hill. Today we're celebrating John John's new job here in London, so I'll probably take some nice photos for next week's post! These are some snapshots of all the pretty things I've seen and created the past week. I hope you like them!

How was you week? Any special news?

Have a lovely day!

Maria

6. Raspberry mojitos for two on a rainy Saturday nights7. Some of my favorite nail polishes (Essie & Topshop)8. Peonies in the bathroom!9. Peonies in the kitchen (they're taking over the apartment) + my new chalkboard frame10. Spicy Thai dinner

Thursday, July 12, 2012

A couple of months ago I traveled with John John to my hometown Thessaloniki, in Greece just for a weekend. It was amazing to leave gloomy London behind us and enjoy a couple of days full of friends, family, my dogs, amazing food and sun! Oh, the sun (the only thing missing from London), the sun in Greece makes everything look brighter, it gives people and objects this magic glow, a glow that makes everybody smile. I know things are not looking good for Greece right now, but believe me as long as we have our sun, we'll keep trying to make everything go back to normal.During my quick trip there I visited our friends new apartment and I wasn't expecting anything less than this: a magic terrace garden with a stunning view of the whole city. Thank God I always carry my camera with my and I took some photos because it was way too beautiful not to share with you. I can't wait to go back to Greece for holidays and enjoy every single moment of my time there in the sun.

I took these photos around sunset while enjoying a glass of my favorite liqueurs, the famous 'Mastiha' liqueur from Chios island (take a look at one of my trips to Chios island here & here).

I hope you have a lovely Thursday and remember that happiness is homemade :)

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

If you decide that you want to paint a dark blue wall in your bedroom make sure the rest of the room has a neutral palette, add some white bed linen, a couple of your favorite art pieces and you're done!

A dark blue wall in your kitchen area will highlight all of the other elements in there. Wooden floors and white cabinets will be noticed from everybody!

If you add a dark blue wall in the living room area you will have the chance to create a unique dramatic art gallery in your own house. You can hang on your new dark blue wall either a group of art pieces or just one statement art piece like the golden one in the picture above.

Color plays a vital role in interior design. The right color decision can make your room look more interesting, make all the details pop and drama is created. Today I want to share with you a few notes about dark blue walls. If you're a fan of this color you'll need to do a little work before you start painting! First of all pick the right room, remember you're going to use the dark blue to create a contrast and highlight the rest of the rooms elements. Don't forget that sometimes one dark wall might be the only thing you need!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Happy Tuesday! Yesterday I reorganized my kitchen shelves and while doing it, I was wondering about exposed kitchen shelves. The open kitchen shelving trend is really popular now and people seem to ignore the fact that everything gets dusty and they might need to take everything off the shelves and wash their dishware each week. I was always a huge fan of exposed shelves and storage cabinets, they always look so pretty and stylish in magazines. Back in my apartment in Greece, I have a new modern kitchen without any exposed shelves, but my studio apartment here in London has a tiny kitchen area and adding a couple of exposed shelves was almost mandatory. I would really like to know your thoughts on exposed kitchen shelves, would you try it?

If you're not sure if the 'exposed kitchen shelves' trend is the right one for you then take a look at some of my favorite kitchen areas that will help you decide if you would like to add exposed storage units into your home!

Monday, July 09, 2012

I'm not gonna lie to you, it has been a tough week. Finishing my degree here in London, means only one thing: Job hunting. Endless stress, sleepless nights & excitement. Excitement to work in a city I absolutely adore, excitement for what life has in in store for me and all the new possibilities that I'm more than ready to explore. These are some of the things that made me smile during this rainy week in London. I hope they make you smile a little, too.

1. New pair of glittery H&M sandals

2. Walking around Bayswater

3. Two huge macarons at Kitchen & Pastry (Notting Hill)

4. A hot cup of cappuccino while reading my two new Interior Design books (a gift from a fellow blogger & friend Ciaran! Take a look at his amazing blog here)

5. "LO-VE" pillowcases on my bed (Bought from Lush Designs a year ago)

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

I always loved make overs. Especially when it comes to old family houses. Archi­tect Clare Cousins owns this Edwardian house in Melbourne, Australia and was in charge for this amazing renovation. A modern and bright interior with beautiful light wood ceilings and an overall natural sheme. I'm totally in love with the bedroom area and the floor to ceiling windows. Notice the teepee in the nursery and take a look at this post "DIY// Make your own teepee" if you would like to make one for your house, too!

Monday, July 02, 2012

Happy July everybody! This is the first DIY project for this month and I'm absolutely in love with it! I love sketching, so chalkboard paint was one of my favorite materials since I was a child. It seems like chalkboard paint is everywhere right now but is it in your apartment yet? It looks like the kitchen area is the best place to add a dash of chalkboard paint (or sometimes more than a dash!). You can paint a whole wall, or a small area between shelves. If for some reason you don't want to change your wall colors add a big frame(or a group of smaller ones) and paint the inside of it with chalkboard paint and you'll have the same result and your wall will be in a perfect condition!

What do you think? Would you attempt something similar in your apartment?